Continuous casting apparatus with movable ladles and tundishes

ABSTRACT

An apparatus for continuous casting of metal is disclosed including a central vertical arbor assembly having an upper column member telescopically arranged relative to a lower column member. The lower column member is secured to support structure and the upper column member projects upwardly from and is keyed to be nonrotatable but movable vertically relative to the lower column member. Two ladle carrier arms are mounted on an upper portion of the upper column member and two tundish carrier arms are mounted below the ladle carrier arms on the lower column member, for independent pivotal movement of each of the ladle and tundish arms relative to the arbor assembly in horizontal planes. A lift mechanism between the telescoping column members lifts and lowers the upper column and both ladle arms relative to the lower column and the tundish arms. Each tundish arm comprises a hub around the lower column and a tundish supporting fork projecting radially from the hub. Each hub carries a said fork by means operative to raise and lower the tundish supporting fork relative to the hub, the arbor assembly and ladle supporting arms.

United States Patent Schoffmann CONTINUOUS CASTING APPARATUS WITH MOVABLE LADLES AND TUNDISHES Primary ExaminerRobert D. Baldwin Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Arthur M. Streich 5 7 ABSTRACT An apparatus for continuous casting of metal is disclosed including a central vertical arbor assembly having an upper column member telescopically arranged relative to a lower column member. The lower column member is secured to support structure and the upper column member projects upwardly from and is keyed to be nonrotatable but movable vertically relative to the lower column member. Two ladle carrier arms are mounted on an upper portion of the upper column member and two tundish carrier arms are mounted below the ladle carrier arms on the lower column member, for independent pivotal movement of each of the ladle and tundish arms relative to the arbor assembly in horizontal planes. A lift mechanism between the telescoping column members lifts and lowers the upper column and both ladle arms relative to the lower column and the tundish arms. Each tundish arm comprises a hub around the lower column and a tundish supporting fork projecting radially from the hub. Each hub carries a said fork by means operative to raise and lower the tundish supporting fork relative to the hub, the arbor assembly and ladle supporting arms.

6 Claims, 3'Drawing Figures coNrrNuous CASTING APPARATUS wmr MOVABLE LADLES AND TUNDISHES' BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention This invention relates to continuous casting of metals and in particular to a continuous casting apparatus with movable ladles and tundishes. This invention further relates to improvements to apparatus such as disclosed in a prior patent to Anton Kubera and me, U.S. Pat. No. 3,552,902 of Jan. 5, 1971.

2. Description of the Prior Art Prior art patents disclose arrangements for supporting the great weight of ladles and tundishes, with apparatus including carriages having wheels or rollers engaging railway tr'acks to support the ladles and/or tundishes being moved into and away from casting positions. Examples of such arrangements are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,344,847, Oct. 3, 1967; U.S. Pat. No. 3,382,913, May 14, 1968; U.S. Pat. No. 3,446,269, May 27, 1969; and U.S. Pat. No. 3,456,713, July 22, 1969.

U.S. Pat. No. 3,552,902, Jan. 5, 1971, granted to Anton Kubera and me, discloses a pair of ladle carrier arms pivotally mounted on a common vertical arbor, and a pair of tundishes each separately pivotable about its own vertical support column, with each of the ladles and tundishes being movable into and away from casting positions.

U.S. Pat. No. 3,556,349 discloses a pair of tundishes mounted to pivot together on a single vertical arbor and which can be raised and lowered, but which will require separate support structure for one or more ladles.

SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION The present invention relates to an improved compact apparatus which eliminates the need for wheeled or roller carriages and rail tracks to move ladles and tundishes into and away from casting positions; provides a single arbor assembly that raises and lowers a pair of ladle carrier arms that can also pivot independently of each other in a horizontal plane; and provides for supporting a pair bf t'undishcarrier arms on the same single arbor assembly, with each of the tundish carrier arms being movable vertically and pivotally in a horizontal plane independently of each other and independently of the ladle carrier arms. The objects of the present invention are to provide all such features with a compact apparatus having a single vertical arbor support assemblyl According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention an apparatus for continuous casting of metal is provided with a central vertical arbor assembly having an upper cylindrical column member telescopically arranged within a lower cylindrical column member. The lower and outer column member is secured to support structure and the inner and upper column member projects upwardly from and is keyed to be nonrotat'able but movable vertically within the lower column member. Two ladle carrier arms are mounted on an upper portion of the upper and inner column member and two tundish carrier arms are mounted below the ladle carrier arms on the lower column member, for independent pivotal movement of each of the ladle andtun dish arms relative to the arborassembly in horizontal planes. A lift mechanism is arranged within the-lower column member beneath the upper column member to lift and lower the upper column and both ladle arms relative to the lower column. and the tundish arms. Each tundish arm comprises a hub around the lower and outer column and'a tundish supporting fork projecting radially from the hub. Each hub carries a said fork by means operative to raise and lower the tundish supporting fork relative to the hub, the arbor assembly and ladle supporting arms.

Other features and objects of the invention that have been attained will appear from the more detailed description to follow with reference to an embodiment of the invention shown in the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 of the accompanying drawings shows a side elevation, partly in section, a ladle and tundish support apparatus according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a top view of the apparatus shown in FIG.

1; and

FIG. 3 is a view taken along line III-Ill in FIG. 1 and viewing the structure in the direction indicated by arrows.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT umn 5. The column member 5 is secured, as by welding, to support structures 6 beneath the casting floor 2. Column 5 has a circular bottom piece 7 also welded to support structure 6, and having a square central opening through which a square key 8 projects (see also FIG. 3) to provide alignment of the arbor assembl 3 relative to the support structure 6.

Column 4 is telescopically fitted within the upper and open end of column '5. One or more keys 10 are provided which are arranged in vertical parallel alignment with arbor 3, which are welded to the inner surface of column 5 and project into a vertical slot 11 defined in the outer surface of column 4, to lock column 4 against rotation while permitting vertical movement of column 4 within column 5.

A pair of ladle carrier arms l4, 15 are mounted on an upper portion of column 4 to carry a pair of ladles 16, 17. The arms 14, 15 rest upon collars 18, 19 respectively, that are secured to column 4. Antifriction roller bearings 22 areinterposed between arm 14 and column 4, and antifriction roller bearings 23 are interposed between armlS and column 4, and thus both arms 14, 15 are pivotable around column 4, each in a horizontal plane. The manner in which such pivotal movement is provided for will now be described. A nonrotating ring gear'25'is rigidly secured, as by welding, to the column 4 between arms 14, 15. A reversible electric motor 26 is mounted on arm 14 with its drive shaft 27 projecting downwardly. A pinion gear 28 is mounted on drive shaft 27 and engages ring gear 25. When motor 26 turns shaft 27 and pinion gear 28, motor 26 and arm 14 pivot horizontally around column 4 because, as has been stated, ring gear 25 cannot turn as it is welded to column 4 and column 4 is held against rotation by the keys 10. Likewise, a reversible electric motor 29 is mounted on arm but with its drive shaft 30 projecting upwardly. A pinion gear 31 is mounted on drive shaft 30 and also engages ring gear 25. When motor 29 turns its shaft 30 and pinion gear 31, motor 29 and arm 15 pivot horizontally around column 4. Electric power for motors 26 and 29 may be delivered to movable arms l4, 15 for the motors by such as brushes (not shown) engaging slip rings 32 on gear 25. Column 4,

2 arms 14 and 15, ladles 16, 17, ring gear 25, and motors 26 and 29, are also shown in the top view of FIG. 2.

Referring again to FIG. 1, in addition to arms 14, 15, and ladles 16, 17 being pivotable about the arbor assembly 3, such arms and ladles may also be raised and lowered. As shown in FIG. 1 the arms 14, 15 are in their lowest position, with the collar 19 resting upon an annular cap 35 fastened to the top of the lower column 5. Column 4, arms 14, 15 and ladles 16, 17 may be raised from the position shown in FIG. 1, and then lowered again, by a reversible lift mechanism 37 arranged within'the lower column 5 and beneath the upper column 4. As shown in FIG. 3, the lift mechanism 37 may comprise several units (six are shown) each preferably comprising a cylinder defining block 38 containing a piston 39 actuated by hydraulic fluid pressure.

With reference again to FIG. 1, a pair of tundish carrier arms 40, 41 are mounted on an upper portion of the lower column 5 to carry a pair of tundishes 42, 43. The arms 40, 41 rest upon collars 44, 45 respectively, that are secured to column 5. Antifriction'roller bearings 48 are interposed between arm 40 and column 5, and antifriction roller bearings 49 are interposed between arm 41 and column 5, and thus both arms 40, 41 are pivotable around column 5, each in a horizontal plane. The manner in which the pivotable movement of arms 40, 41 is provided for is similar to that which has been described for the arms 14, 15. That is, a nonrotating ring gear 51 is rigidly secured, as by welding, to the column 5 between arms 40, 41. A reversible electric motor 52 is mounted on arm 40 on the opposite side of column 5 from tundish 42. Motor 52 is arranged with its drive shaft 53 projecting downwardly. A pinion gear 54 is mounted on drive shaft 53 and engages ring gear 51. When motor 52 turns shaft 53 and pinion gear 54, motor 52 and arm 40 pivot horizontally around column 5 because, as has been stated, ring gear 51 cannot turn as it is welded to column 5 and column 5 is held against rotation because it is welded to support structure 6. Likewise, a reversible electric motor 55 is mounted on arm 41 (on the opposite side of column 5from tundish 43) but with its drive shaft 56 projecting upwardly. A pinion gear 57 is mounted on drive shaft 56 and also engages ring gear 51. When motor 55 turns its shaft 56 and pinion gear 57, motor 55 and arm 41 pivot horizontally around column 5. Electric power for motors 52 I and 55 may also be delivered to movable arms 40, 41

for the motors by such as brushes (not shown) engaging slip rings 58 on gear 5].

In addition to arms 40, 41 and tundishes 42, 43 being pivotable about the arbor 3, the tundishes 42, 43 may also be raised and lowered. The means for accomplishingthis is identical for both tundishes and therefore only tundish arm 40 will be described. Tundish carrier arm 40 comprises a hub assembly 60 mounted around the lower column 5 and a tundish supporting fork 61 projects radially outward from hub assembly 60 (this is also shown in FIG. 2). The fork 61 is connected to the hub for vertical movement of the fork 61 relative to the hub 60. The hub 60 defines a pair of slots 62, 63. Only slot 62 can be seen in FIG. 1 but both slots 62, 63 are visible in the top view of FIG. 2. The fork 61, as shown in FIG. 2, is provided with vertical guide bars 64, 65 which project into slots 62, 63 to guide movement of fork 61 up and down relative to hub 60. The movement of fork 61 is provided for by winch means 67 shown in FIG. 1 as comprising a hydraulic fluid pressure operated cylinder 68 which is connected to hub 60 and operates to move a piston rod 69 up and down. A roller 70 is connected to the upper end of rod 69. A cable 71 is secured to hub 60, looped around roller 70 and a second roller 72, and cable 71 extends downwardly and is secured to fork.6l. Fork 61 is shown in FIG. 1 to be in its uppermost position. To lower fork 61, rod 69 and roller 70 are moved upwardly and cable 71 moves over the second roller 72 clockwise, as shown, as gravity moves fork 61 downwardly. To raise fork 61 again, rod 69 and roller 70 are moved downwardly to pull cable 71 counterclockwise over the second roller 72 and fork 61 is pulled upwardly. Thus fork 61 and tundish 42 can be raised and lowered relative to the arbor assembly 3 and relative to ladles 16, 17.

In the operation of the apparatus, with reference to FIG. 2, a tundish, for example tundish 42, is positioned over the mold 1. Ladle carrier arm 14, with ladle 16 filled with molten metal, may then be pivoted counterclockwise around column 4 until ladle 16 is over tundish 42. The vertical position of ladle 16 may be adjusted as desired by the lift mechanism 37 and the vertical position of tundish 42 may be adjusted as desired by thewinch means 67. The pouring may then begin. When ladle 16 is almost empty, ladle l7 filled with molten metal will be pivoted clockwise around column 4 to a position alongside ladle 16. When ladle 16 is empty, ladle 16 will be pivoted clockwise away from mold 1 and ladle l7 clockwise to a position over tundish 42. Tundish 42 has sufficient capacity that it does not empty during the brief time required to move ladle 16 out of the way and ladle 17 into position over the tundish 42. The empty ladle 16 will be pivoted clockwise to a refill position on the opposite side of arbor 3 from mold 1. When ladle 16 is refilled it will be pivoted counterclockwise to a position alongside ladle l7 and when ladle 17 is empty it will be moved counterclockwise to the refill position and ladle 16 will be moved counterclockwise over tundish 42. When the tundish 42 is to be taken out of operation, casting is interrupted briefly as arm 40 is turned clockwise around the arbor assembly 3 to make room for arm 41 to turn clockwise and locate tundish 43 over mold 1. Arm 40 continues to turn clockwise until tundish 42 arrives at a suitable position for lowering fork 61 and to lower tundish 42 on suitable carriage means (not shown) for removing tundish 42 from fork 61. A new or refurbished tundish may then be moved over fork 61, and fork 61 is raised to lift the new tundish and then pivoted to move the new tundish, when needed, over mold 1. Additionally, the vertical adjustability of fork 61, as well as hub 60 and the ladle arms 14, 15 can be utilized provide improved access to various parts of the apparatus to facilitate inspection and maintenance work.

The foregoing is accomplished with an apparatus that utilizes only a single vertical arbor assembly to support and move ladles and tundishes as required for such operations and purposes as have been described and thus it has been shown how the objects of the present invention have been attained in a preferred manner. However. modification and equivalents of the disclosed concepts such as readily occurto those skilled in the art are intended to be included in the scope of this invention. Thus, the scope of the invention is intended to be limited only by the scope of the claims such as are or may hereafter be, appended hereto.

.Tlie embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:

I 1 An apparatus for continuous casting of metal in one or more casting molds, comprising:

a. a central vertical arbor assembly having telescoping upper and lower column members with the lower column adapted to be rigidly attached to support structure and the upper column projecting upwardly from and movable relative to the lower colb. two carrier arms mounted in vertically spaced arrangement on the upper column for independent and unrestricted pivotal movement of said arms relative to said upper column in a horizontal plane, and with each of said carrier arms adapted to carry a casting ladle;

b-l. the carrier arm mounting arrangement comprising a nonrotating ring gear rigidly secured to the uppercolumn between the two ladle carrier arms. a first motor and pinion gear mounted on one of the arms with the first pinion gear engaging with the nonrotating ring gear and a second motor and pinion gear mounted on the other of s. the arms with the second pinion gear engaging with the nonrotating ring gear, for providing independent pivotal movement of both of the ladle carrier arms relative to the central vertical arbor assembly and relative to each other;

e. a vertically arranged key attached to one of said column members and projecting into an elongated vertical slot defined in the other of said column members to limit movement of the upper column to vertical movement; andd. a reversible lift mechanism between the telescoping column members for lifting and lowering the upper column and both of the ladle carrier arms relative to the lower column.

2.An apparatus according to claim 1 in which the upper column is telescopically fitted within the lower column and the lift mechanism is arranged within the lower column and beneath the upper column.

3. An apparatus according to claim 1 having a third and a fourth carrier arm mounted in vertically spaced arrangement on the lower column for independent pivotal movement of the third and fourth arms relative to the lower column in a horizontal plane, and with each of said third and fourth arms adapted to carry a tundish- 4; An apparatus according to claim 3 having a nonrotating ring gear rigidly secured to the lower column between the third and fourth carrier arms. a third arm drive motor and pinion gear mounted on the third arm with the pinion gear engaging the lower column ring gear, and a fourth arm drive motor and pinion gear mounted on the fourth arm with the pinion gear engaging the lower column ring gear. for providing independent pivotal movement of both of the tundish carrier arms relative to the central vertical arbor assembly.

5.:An apparatus according to claim 3 in which each of the tundish carrier arms comprises a hub assembly mot-inted around the lower column and a tundish supporting fork projecting radially outward of the hub assembly; and the fork is carried by means mounted on the hub and connected to the fork, which is operative to raise and lower the tundish supporting yoke relative to the hub.

6. An apparatus according to claim 5 having a nonrotating ring gear rigidly secured to the lower column between the third and fourth carrier arms, a third arm drive motor and pinion gear mounted on the hub of the third arm with the pinion gear engaging the lower column ring gear, and a fourth arm drive motor and pinion gear mounted on the hub of the fourth arm with the pini6h= gear engaging the lower column ring gear, for providing independent pivotal movement of both tundish carrier arms relative to the central arbor assembly. a= 

1. An apparatus for continuous casting of metal in one or more casting molds, comprising: a. a central vertical arbor assembly having telescoping upper and lower column members with the lower column adapted to be rigidly attached to support structure and the upper column projecting upwardly from and movable relative to the lower column; b. two carrier arms mounted in vertically spaced arrangement on the upper column for independent and unrestricted pivotal movement of said arms relative to said upper column in a horizontal plane, and with each of said carrier arms adapted to carry a casting ladle; b-1. the carrier arm mounting arrangement comprising a nonrotating ring gear rigidly secured to the upper column between the two ladle carrier arms, a first motor and pinion gear mounted on one of the arms with the first pinion gear engaging with the nonrotating ring gear and a second motor and pinion gear mounted on the other of the arms with the second pinion gear engaging with the nonrotating ring gear, for providing independent pivotal movement of both of the ladle carrier arms relative to the central vertical arbor assembly and relative to each other; c. a vertically arranged key attached to one of said column members and projecting into an elongated vertical slot defined in the other of said column members to limit movement of the upper column to vertical movement; and d. a reversible lift mechanism between the telescoping column members for lifting and lowering the upper column and both of the ladle carrier arms relative to the lower column.
 2. An apparatus according to claim 1 in which the upper column is telescopically fitted within the lower column and the lift mechanism is arranged within the lower column and beneath the upper column.
 3. An apparatus according to claim 1 having a third and a fourth carrier arm mounted in vertically spaced arrangement on the lower column for independent pivotal movement of the third and fourth arms relative to the lower column in a horizontal plane, and with each of said third and fourth arms adapted to carry a tundish.
 4. An apparatus according to claim 3 having a nonrotating ring gear rigidly secured to the lower column between the third and fourth carrier arms, a third arm drive motor and pinion gear mounted on the third arm with the pinion gear engaging the lower column ring gear, and a fourth arm drive motor and pinion gear mounted on the fourth arm with the pinion gear engaging the lower column ring gear, for providing independent pivotal movement of both of the tundish carrier arms relative to the central vertical arbor assembly.
 5. An apparatus according to claim 3 in which each of the tundish carrier arms comprises a hub assembly mounted around the lower column and a tundish supporting fork projecting radially outward of the hub assembly; and the fork is carried by means mounted on the hub and connected to the fork, which is operative to raise and lower the tundish supporting yoke relative to the hub.
 6. An apparatus according to claim 5 having a nonrotating ring gear rigidly secured to the lower column between the third and fourth carrier arms, a third arm drive motor and pinion gear mounted on the hub of the third arm with the pinion gear engaging the lower column ring gear, and a fourth arm drive motor and pinion gear mounted on the hub of the fourth arm with the pinion gear engaging the lower column ring gear, for providing independent pivotal movement of both tundish carrier arms relative to the central arbor assembly. 